DC Schools Performance Adds Up

District students advance in math while rest of region, nation linger

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Considered one of the nation's poorest-performing school systems, DC Public Schools finally gains some bragging rights.

D.C. charter and public school students in fourth and eighth grade showed gains in math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test. The test, taken every two years, is considered the nation's report card.

DC Math Scores Going Up

Maryland showed some gains in fourth grade math scores, while Virginia remained stagnant in both fourth and eighth grades. In fact, most scores around the country remained flat, worrying school reformists who want to see higher scores in math for all U.S. students.

D.C. excelled in fourth and eighth grade scores. There were only four other states to do that -- Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. D.C. fourth-graders are still below the national average on math scores (219 average for D.C. compared to 239 nationally). The same can be said of D.C. eighth-graders (254 average for D.C. compared to 282 nationally). Both grades have been trending upward in D.C. since 2000, however.

D.C. Schools representatives said they've added teachers who know how to make learning math fun and have added math specialists to the schools, as well.